Survive The Holidays

How to stay fit and trim from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

Conventional wisdom has it that most of us gain about five pounds during the six-week holiday period. In reality, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average person gains only one pound over the holidays–but never loses it. So, after a decade of Turkey-Day feasts, office-party appetizers, and liberal late-night toasts, you could be lugging around an extra 10 pounds.

Before you boycott the holidays, know that you can get through this most wonderful time of the year with your fitness and waistline intact. All you need are a few proven strategies for keeping your activity level up and your caloric intake under control. Follow this RW Action Plan and you'll enjoy the holidays and start the New Year lean and fit.

Chuck Bartlett, who coaches more than 100 runners in the Seattle area, believes that the best way to stay consistent with your running is to avoid pressuring yourself to be too consistent. Runners who try to keep up ambitious workouts often find it too daunting and wind up skipping days completely. So, Bartlett recommends focusing on simply doing some kind of workout almost every day, even if it's very short and easy. "I'd rather see people run 20 minutes five days a week than an hour a couple of days a week," says Bartlett.

When it comes to your diet, you may find it impossible to resist eating a few more sweets and rich foods than you normally do. And that's okay. But you want to follow the same general healthy eating guidelines you do at other times of the year. According to Kim Mueller, R.D., a San Diego-based sports nutritionist, one factor that tends to sabotage dietary consistency during the holidays is the mind-set that "well, since I splurged yesterday, I might as well go ahead and splurge today." Instead, she says, allow yourself small portions of special foods during holiday events, then focus on getting back on track with the very next meal.

Take some time before the holidays start to plan your exercise schedule. "Actually write down your days off from work, your trips, and other events," says Bartlett. "Figure out when you'll likely be able to run and when you definitely won't be able to run." Then you can pencil in workouts on days you know you'll be around and schedule days off from running to coincide with travel days, family visits, and the like.

You can use a slightly different sort of planning to prevent overeating at holiday meals and parties. "Use visualization before you go," says Ilana Katz, R.D., nutritionist for the Sport Factory in Roswell, Georgia. "First picture yourself eating only one plate of food. And decide that you're going to choose just a few of your favorite foods to enjoy–and that you don't have to taste everything." We seldom overeat on purpose, Katz says. We do it spontaneously. So by taking some of the spontaneity out of your holiday eating, you stand a better chance of enjoying your food in moderation.

There's a principle of physics stating that to observe a phenomenon is to change it. Katz suggests keeping a food journal–writing down everything you eat and drink–to give you an accurate picture of how many calories you are taking in. Maintaining your running log during this period is also important, since it will clearly illustrate how many of those calories you are (or aren't) burning off. Knowing that you're "keeping score" may help you restrain yourself at the dessert buffet and motivate you to keep up your mileage.

"When you go out, wear tight-fitting clothes," says Katz. "It helps you be more aware of how much you're eating." You may also want to weigh yourself roughly once a week throughout the holidays, since studies have shown that those who weigh themselves frequently are less likely to gain weight. Mueller suggests keeping tabs on your weight by monitoring how your favorite pair of jeans are fitting

The holidays are not the time of year when most runners achieve peak endurance or speed. But they are an excellent time to focus on other aspects of fitness, such as strength and flexibility, which are often neglected in the warmer months when you're logging more running miles.

Setting a more general fitness goal in the short term will give you a motivational boost now and also set you up to achieve a higher level of running performance in the spring. If, for example, you've been struggling with tight calves or hamstrings, focus your training during this six-week period on improving your flexibility. Or concentrate on building total-body strength by adding some resistance training to your routine.

The holiday season is also a good time to set some running-related goals for next year. "Pick out some spring races you want to run," Bartlett says. "That can motivate you to start the year a little bit ahead of the game."

Even though most runners are pretty determined folks, psychologists say that sheer willpower is not the best way to overcome the temptation to run less and eat more during the holidays. Instead, they suggest substituting an appealing alternative to unhealthy foods and inactive habits.

"I grew up in the Northeast," says Bartlett, "and I was a cross-country skier as well as a runner, so I used to love to go up to the mountains and cross-country ski instead of running in December and January." Other good alternatives to running include snowshoeing, basketball, dancing, ice-skating, indoor cycling, and cardio kickboxing.

In terms of food, you can sometimes substitute the pleasure of overeating with the pleasure of social interaction. "When you go to a party, instead of hanging out where the food platter is, find a room where your friends are just talking and hang out with them," Katz says. And when you do venture to the buffet, try to find the most healthful items that still satisfy your cravings.

Of course, there are times when nothing can substitute for a slice of cheesecake or several crackers smothered in crab dip. In these cases, it's best to have the real thing–but just a little. "Remember the law of diminishing returns," days Mueller. "The first bite is going to release the most pleasure hormones. Each bite thereafter releases less. So, if there are several foods on the table that you want to consume, take tiny portions of each of them." That way you can have your cake–and eggnog too.